


Mightier

by iLurked



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers for 1x17, post 1x17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1467838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iLurked/pseuds/iLurked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a scene from Ward's nightmare: Simmons was captured by Hyrda and there was naught he could do about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mightier

It was like a waking nightmare where one by one his worst fears were realised.

Everything was spiralling out of his control and he was helpless to do anything but blindly follow orders, as he had already made his choice years ago when he allowed himself to be recruited and initiated into Hydra. (His joining was not necessarily because he believed in what the institution stood for; instead, it was because he believed in Garrett.)

After its exposure, Hydra needed to restore its depleted army. Unfortunately, they lacked the personnel and the facilities to do so. Therefore, the first thing on their agenda was to obtain someone with the know-how to set them on their way. They needed someone with the knowledge and the capabilities to do what was needed. They needed someone who knew the secrets of the serum that would turn ordinary men into super soldiers.

In a declaration that made Ward’s blood run cold, Garrett declared that they needed Coulson’s biochemist.

Ward remembered the look Garret gave him immediately after the said proclamation. It was measuring, as if Garret was weighing Ward’s commitment and finding it lacking. Without breaking eye contact, Garett gave the order to abduct the biochemist. The order, however, was not given to Ward, but to Deathlok.

He wondered if Garrett suspected what Ward refused to acknowledge even to himself: how he was drawn to the biochemist like the proverbial moth to the flame. Ward wondered if Garrett suspected that the specialist would somehow mess up the order to grab Simmons because…

Because she was unlike anyone or anything he had seen in his life. He had never known courage and altruism until she sacrificed herself again and again for the team. He had never known warmth until he looked into her worried eyes and turned himself over to her capable hands after each mission. He had never known genuine happiness until she looked at him as if they were sharing a secret joke. He had never known how to appreciate the little things until she came into his life. And he had never known fear like the one he felt when he realized that she had thrown herself out of the bus to fall into certain death.

In her he found a person who was tiny enough to fit the small cracks but big enough to fill up the empty places in his soul.

And that, right there, is the reason why Garrett commanded him to stick close to the 0-8-4 and to stay away from the fascinating biochemist.

Days later, Ward’s most secret fears were realised: Deathlok was back at the base with an unconscious Simmons slung over his shoulders like a sack of rice. She was ordered locked up and monitored at all times, to await the brainwashing, the threats, the bribes, the torture, whatever was necessary to make her cooperate.

Debilitated by fear, paralysed by helplessness, Ward can only pray that the scientist cooperate because there was no escape from there.

Ward volunteered for the first watch. Garrett gave him a mocking smirk, but allowed it.

That was how Ward found himself watching the video monitors. An hour in and Simmons was still unconscious, lying down on the stone-cold floor.

Wait. Did Simmons move? Was she awake? Ward frowned and stared closer at the monitor. There. Her foot moved. And then suddenly, her body started jerking as if she was being electrocuted. Simmons was seizing. What the hell did Deathlok do to her?

Cursing, Ward rushed to Jemma’s cell. Because his hands were shaking so bad, it took him a couple of tries before he could swipe his key to the lock.

“Simmons!” he called out, grabbing her shoulders to keep her from hurting herself. He tried to remember the first aid training he had received in another lifetime.

Then, as suddenly at it had began, the seizures stopped. His relief, however, was short-lived. He felt a sharp prick at the back of his neck at the same time he realised Simmons’ eyes were now open. He saw something sharp protruding from the ring on her finger.

Almost immediately after realising how screwed he was, he felt a tingling that started from his neck and spread all over. Soon, he lost control of his body and found himself slumped on top of the biochemist, unable to get up. He had just been injected with something that rendered his entire body paralyzed but his mind conscious.

“Oh, dear,” he heard her mutter. “This is not part of the plan.”

Hydra had underestimated her. Had it been May who was their target, she would be subjected to an immediate and thorough body search and all her things confiscated after her capture. The protocol, however, was not strictly followed in Simmons’ case because they were not dealing with the Calvary, but with a lowly, untrained scientist. They had forgotten that she can be as deadly as the rest of them. Ward knew they would pay dearly for their mistake. Simmons was not a mere victim. She had a plan.

Ward felt small, strong hands pushing against his chest that had him sliding bonelessly on the floor.

He saw Simmons take deep calming breaths before she pushed the back of her left hand then touched her left ear. The movements were too deliberate to be unconscious. She was definitely activating something.

“Fitz?” she muttered. The absent rocket scientist must have somehow given a reply because she continued, “Yes, I’m ready.”

Of course. The scientists no doubt invented a communication device that could be imbedded underneath the skin to escape detection.

“Did our tracking device work? Perfect. Yes, I know what to do: climb the air vents and release the biological agent, hide, then wait for extraction. And Fitz? Hurry!”

Ward could only watch as Simmons crouched down to his level. She gave him a pitying look.

“I’m sorry about this,” she whispered as she started patting his body down. “Maybe one day, when this is all over, we could share a pot of tea and you could explain to me what is going on behind that brain of yours,” she paused, as if she just realized the absurdity of her comment. 

Had he not been paralysed, Ward suspect he would break down blubbering his apology. The urge to seek her forgiveness was almost incapacitating.

“Of course,” she continued her monologue even while her capable hands continued their work. “I would prefer it if you were behind steel bars and could not hurt me.”

He did not want to put it to the test, but he did not think he could hurt her.

“It’s hard you know,” she continued chattering even as she unsheathed a gun from his shoulder holster. “The wondering. Which parts were Ward and which parts were pretend. Or maybe it was all pretend. Whether we could have said or done something that would somehow convince you not to turn on us.”

He was wondering that, too.

“Here we go,” from his pocket came the key card that would unlock the cell. “I hope that if we ever meet again, it would be under better circumstances than this. I still owe you my life, after all.”

The last thing he saw before blacking out was the sight of Simmons striding away.


End file.
